Broken

When my heart breaks
Hurt is just hurt, until the words bleed
Spinning me around until I can't think
Leaving me breathless and alone

In the silent screams
Where everything collapses into misery
Where everything is out to taunt and haunt me
The knife digs deeper in my soul

I can run to the river,
But I can't seem to wash it off
I can climb any mountain,
But its fresh taste still leaves me lost
I reach for the stars,
Trying to pull back a better time
But the darkness inside me,
Can't ease the hurt inside

Why can't I kill these feelings
Why can't I just forget these memories
What in the hell has been done to me
Why does this ache take full control

When my heart breaks
Hurt is just hurt, until the words bleed
Hurt is just hurt until it takes me
Takes me to tears when I'm alone

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Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”